1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope insertion shape detecting device and particularly to an endoscope insertion shape detecting device which can generate an insertion shape figure of an endoscope insertion portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
An endoscope has been widely used in the medical field, industrial field and the like. Also, the endoscope is used for observation or various treatments for a portion, a tissue and the like in a body cavity of a living body, which is an affected portion in the medical field, for example.
Particularly, when an endoscope is inserted from an anus side of a living body for observation and various treatments for a lower digestive tract, in order to smoothly insert an insertion portion of the endoscope into the bent body cavity, an endoscope insertion shape detecting device capable of detection of a position, a bent state and the like of the insertion portion within the body cavity is used together with the endoscope.
As a system having a configuration supporting observation using the endoscope, a medical support system in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-104072 is proposed, for example.